Component swap

[John B]

    I am interested in building a carbon 29r . The problem is the cost of building a bike from the ground up. I have no donor parts to start the project with . My thought was to buy a lower to mid range bike from Bikes Direct and then remove the components from the Bikes Direct bike and install them on the new carbon frame . You can get some pretty good deals especially the very large and small sizes and because I don't need the frame anyway it seems to make good sense .If any one had input on this project I would really appreciate it . John

[325racer]

The majority of cost and weight of building a bike is in the components.  The China frames are so inexpensive that they are 1/4 or less of the whole price.  As part of that, they are also less than 1/4 of the weight in even the lightest builds.  So weigh, both literally and figuratively your goals.  Moving stuff from a low end alloy bike to carbon will save maybe 3 lbs, probably only 1-2 lbs.

It all depends on your intended outcome.

[John B]

    Thanks for the input . I'm not trying to make a super light bike , but I need to start somewhere . Searching the internet for components I've found the price of a build can add up quickly. My intent is to build a bike I can ride now and swap components out as needed . Thanks John

[bxcc]

It could work but isn't really the best way. What's your goal for a bike and what's your budget?

[carbonazza]

I think it is a very good idea. Start cheap(and somehow heavy) with a good frame.
And upgrade with lighter parts, when you get good deals in the future.

The only warning is insuring to have compatible parts (BB/crankset, fork/headset, axles) between the cheap bike and the carbon frame.

[John B]

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fantom29_trail_xii.htm.   
I've enclosed the specs for the donor bike . It doesn't give detail on things like the axle spacing , but what do you think about the parts ?

[cmh]

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fantom29_trail_xii.htm.   
I've enclosed the specs for the donor bike . It doesn't give detail on things like the axle spacing , but what do you think about the parts ?

Starting with a BD bike with the option to upgrade is exactly what I did with my fat bike, because there are so many things that are unique to a fat bike, I didn't have the stock of parts that I could use to upgrade. Considering the Rock Shox Bluto fork and nice wheels was almost as much as the complete bike, it was a no-brainer.. I've upgraded the bike from there, and haven't done the Chiner frame upgrade yet.  So, I'd say starting with a BD bike and taking it from there is a good start. The frame is definitely not terribly impressive, but so far it's done the job - and if I ever upgrade to a carbon frame, I'll save at least two pounds from that alone!